i never noticed how pretty ellen's eyes are. shoulda been wearing a shirt that color, some jeans, and that same color kicks..that woulda been better than her lookin all....girly. lol

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Kuddos for pointing out the big elephant in the room. The issue with Ellen and Rachel is not about butch or femme roles, or the person deciding to suddenly femme it up. It is more about how it is disheartening to find that somehow these women are not staying true to who they are due to media or network pressures. Both of them have stated that they dislike makeup and are not ones to show cleavage and such, but now that they have a gained media attention they suddenly are conforming to a more popular ideal of beauty.

Many queers and their straight allies look up to these women for being out despite pressures that would try to persuade them otherwise. I myself love to see positive roles models for our community. However, it is clearly evident that their image is being changed in order to make them more approachable to the public. Instead of helping the public redefine their idea of beauty, we find it easier to change the image of these women. I find that soft butch Ellen, decked out in a suit, hip sneakers and minimal makeup is way more true to herself than wearing a turquoise bra. Many lesbians would agree, they fantasize about the Ellen that rocked it and refused to succumb to the media.

I seem to remember Ellen saying in interviews (on more than one occasion) that she hates wearing make-up. She's acknowledged she has had to wear it on set, and immediately after shooting, she wipes it off. The thing that makes me kinda scratch my head about the CoverGirl contract is not that there is any kind of de-dykeing going on with her, it is the fact that she has said she hates wearing the stuff, but she is going to promote it.

but I remember when I started out in my first job (a stockbroking firm) that I was advised not to wear RED as it was shown to aggravate female colleagues! This was in 1994!

Lest we forget there was a time when female office workers were only 'allowed' to wear skirts ... *shudders*.

Thank Christ we don't live with those stupid rules anymore!

I was personally surprised when I heard about Ellen. It was a bold move on the part of CoverGirl. Companies are finally realising where there is untapped money to be made (I think after the DOVE campaign).

If Ellen wants to show some cleavage - I don't have a problem with that.

Maybe Rachel Maddow evolved her own 'look'. Why do we assume she is being 'made' to change? Lesbian's get bored with their appearance the same as everyone else!

When I was 11, I had a mullet - thank god I saw the light!

Ellen is getting older, let her feel good by being a Covergirl lady. It'll probably do good for her self-esteem. I mean, look at her wife. She's got to feel kind of intimidated that she has a younger and hotter woman for a wife.

Let the woman breathe. And hey, I think we are pushing stereotypes just a hell of a lot. Why must it always been the uber butch lesbian with the buzzcut. Let tv world see that lesbians aren't all uber butchy and putting socks in their pants.

Ellen Degeneres looks damn good for her age, and its refreshing to hear that she is letting herself feel beautiful.

At the end of the day, she isn't the lesbian who has a talk show and is a soft butch.

She is a woman, that has a talk show, who just so happens to be a lesbian and wear softer masculin clothing.

I don't think there would be ever a lesbian that can represent what all lesbians are, is just that us girls are so freaking different. I don't know why many lesbians and as a matter of fact many people thinks that you need to be butchy to be a lesbian. IS JUST NOT THE WAY IT IS.. Judging if someone wears more makeup or changes their look is just a close minded way of thinking.. come on, everyone changes!!! I still remember when I was in high school and I used to wear guys jeans and shirts! and now, believe me.. things have changed!..

Uh....hasn't Queen Latifah had her own spotlight with cover girl...and she's "family" right??
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That this blog not degenerate into another "I just don't understand the whole butch-femme thing" but see I'm already too late.

Your friend, the unapologetically femme loving butch
Rusty
Check out my Obama / Biden 2008 Blog.
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“People deserve the government they get, and they deserve to get it good and hard.” ~ H.L. Mencken

I have some problems with this post and the comments-

1. Ellen's a big enough name that she can do whatever she wants. Clearly, she wants to be the new face of Cover Girl or she wouldn't have accepted their offer. I bet she probably thinks it's great not just because she doesn't fit the standard ideas of beauty but also because she's 50. Fifty and a Cover Girl. As women we should all be thrilled about that- gay or not.

2. I think it's ridiculous that we're talking about butch/femme in the 21st century. It's not the 1950's anymore. We can all just be women. Women who love women who don't have to fit into assigned roles.

3. Ellen's a woman. We're lesbians. Shouldn't we be happy to see her boobs? I'm just sayin'.

4. It's been said before. It's worth repeating. If you're on TV, you wear makeup. Period. Ellen and Rachel have both been made up, airbrushed and dressed by people paid to do that for years.

5. What was wrong with Ellen's wedding outfit? It wasn't great, but it was okay. I was much more bothered by the fact that they never kissed in the video. That annoyed me and stood out as a glaring omission.

This is so true! Ellen has worked long and hard to get to this point in her career. She has faced a lot of discrimination and just when she has the straightest people out there eating out of her hand, they try to make her "one of them." I don't know that it's intentional, maybe they just don't get that not every woman is femme or wants to feel pretty. I know that for me, nothing is nicer than watching Ellen dance around in her hot suits, vests and ties. As for Rachel, I just saw her for the first time the other night and I instantly knew she was gay. I also instantly noticed the makeup and the hair, in fact my friends and I were sort of making fun of it because it doesn't look right, just like Ellen in with her boob hanging out. It's obvious that we still have a ways to go with being correctly represented in the media. This is precisely why I don't like The L Word, where are all the dykes? As I recall Shane doesn't leave the house without her eyeliner and hair gel. I'm not saying that lesbians can't be femme, I'm just saying not all lesbians are femme. Some are raging bull dykes and those are the ones society still doesn't feel comfortable with

I like all looks depending on the person. I do have to admit though that Ellen is my clothing hero. I have vowed to never wear a dress again, a la DeGeneres. If she can pull it off with all the fancy things she does I can too. Unfortunately when I get dressed up in a dress it isn't pretty.(I just don't have the frilly gene I guess)

Karen :)

http://pawsiblegaytails.blogspot.com/

oh, Amy Miller, i like you already

what femme gal doesn't like a little butch eye candy now and again. while i applaud Covergirl for chosing icons that don't fit the typical model ----- i would love to see Ellen stay on the butcher side of the spectrum. then again, how about seeing a good butch/femme shot on the Covergirl ads. dizAMN!!! now that would be hot.

I have nothing constructive to say. That first picture of Rachel Maddow is so hot.

I respect butch women and I understand the writers complaint even though I call myself a balanced lesbian..part femme and maybe ever so slightest touch of masculinity. Anyway, I think its great that shes in commercials simply because lesbians need to be mainstream. I understand that your afraid that the image shes putting off is that lesbians wear makeup, but frankly some lesbians DO wear makeup and since Ellen is the only one out there representing us, its important, I think that the world see that lesbians arent just all butch, because thats what straight people think being a lesbian is-a woman whose butchy that beats up a man and straps it on.
Theres a lot more to being a lesbian than that. Oh and call me crazy but isnt soft butch someone who does wear a little makeup like eye makeup? i knew a woman who called herself that and she wore eye makeup

I got a wedding to go to in November and I've always wanted to do a tux (or a suit). I've done blazers and I did ties as a teen. I got to go shopping. That and for more memory cards.

*it's my first photography gig*

rovermom :)

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Ellen's show has been on the air for four or five years now. If you think that she does not pass through wardrobe, hair and make-up every day prior to stepping onto that stage you are seriously deluded!

Congrats to her and kudos to CoverGirl!!

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